OPENING PRAYER (Stand)Priest: Jesus came with his disciples to a
country place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit down here, while I go
over yonder and pray." Then he took with him Peter and the two sons of
Zebedee, and he began to be saddened and exceedingly troubled. He said to
them, "My soul is sad, even unto death. Wait here and watch with me."
He went forward a little, and falling prostrate he prayed, saying, "Father, if
it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; yet not as I will but as you
will." (Mt 26:36-39)

All: (Kneel)
Almighty and eternal Father, accept our prayer of thanksgiving for your Beloved
Son, our Savior and Lord. As we recall his Sacred Passion send the Spirit
of Christ into our hearts, we beg You, so that whether we pray or work we might
do all in union with Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

Hymn: (Stand)
Jesus, Lord, condemned, defiled, may we too be meek and mild as we tread your
holy Way. May we feel no bitter hatred, when we too are persecuted, left
alone to walk with You.

FIRST STATION - JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO
DEATH

Priest: We adore you, O
Christ, and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect) Because by your
holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: Again the high priest
began to ask him, and said to him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed
One?" And Jesus said to him, "I am. And you shall see the Son of Man
sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven."
But the high priest tore his garments and said. "What further need have we of
witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
And they all condemned him as liable to death. (Mk 14:61-64)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
The kings of the earth rise up and the princes conspire together against the
Lord and against his Anointed. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord; the
Lord said to me: "You are my Son; this day I have begotten you. Ask of me
and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for
your possession." (Ps 2:2, 7-8)

Priest: Let us pray.
All-powerful and eternal God, for proclaiming the truth you Son, Jesus Christ,
is condemned to death by crucifixion. Stir up your love in our hearts so
that we might be ever faithful to all that You have told us and fear nothing
more than the loss of your friendship through sin.

All: Amen.

Hymn:
(Stand)Now
the Cross as Jesus bore it, has become for us who share it, the jeweled Cross of
Victory.

SECOND STATION - JESUS CARRIES HIS
CROSS

Priest: We adore You, O Christ
and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: And Pilate said to
the Jews, "Behold, your king!" But they cried out, "Away with him!
Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify
your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. And so they took Jesus
and led him away, bearing the cross for himself. (Jn 19:14-17)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the Lord been
revealed? He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the
parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, no
appearance that would attract us to him. He was rejected and avoided by
men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom men
turn away, and we held him in no esteem. (Is 53:1-3)

Priest: Let us pray.
Father in heaven, your Son, Jesus Christ, still carries his Cross in his
persecuted brothers and sisters throughout the world. Make us feel the
needs of all persons so that we might as readily help them as we would help
Jesus himself.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: If the world hates
you, know that it has hated me before you. If you were of the world, the
world would love what is its own. Because you are not of the world, but I
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember
the word that I have spoken to you: No servant is greater than his master.
If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also. (J15:18-20)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
Why are your clothes red, and your garments like those of the wine presses?
"The wine press I have trodden alone, and of my people there was no one with me.
I trod them in my anger, and trampled them down in my wrath; their blood spurted
on my garments and I stained all my clothes. I looked about, but there was
no one to help, I was appalled that there was no one to lend support; so my own
arm brought about the victory." (Is 63:2-5)

Priest: Let us pray, O God,
to free us from sin and weakness your Son, Jesus Christ, embraced his fearful
passion and crucifixion. Strengthen us in our baptismal resolutions by
which we renounced sin and Satan, so that through the passion of this life's
sufferings we might rise to a new life of joyful service free of all
selfishness.

All: Amen. (Stand)

Hymn:Jesus met his
grieving Mother, she who made the Lord our Brother; now the sword her heart has
pierced.

FOURTH STATION - JESUS MEETS HIS
AFFLICTED MOTHER

Priest: We adore You, O
Christ, and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: Now there were
standing by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother and
the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold
your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And
from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (Jn 19: 25-27)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
To what can I compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I show
you for your comfort, virgin daughter Sion? For great as the sea is your
distress; who can heal you? (Lam 2:13)

Priest: Let us pray. O
blessed Lord, at your passion a sword of sorrow pierced the loving heart of your
mother as Simeon had foretold. Grant that we who look back on her sorrows
with compassion might receive the healing fruits of your sufferings.

All: Amen (Stand)

Hymn:Simon stopped in
hesitation, not foreseeing his proud station, called to bear the Cross of
Christ.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: And when they had
mocked Jesus, they took the purple cloak off and put his own clothes on him, and
they led him out to be crucified. Then they forced a certain passer-by,
Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, to take up his cross. They
brought Jesus to the place called Golgatha, a name meaning the place of the
skull". (Mk 15:20-22)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
With a loud voice I cry out to the Lord; with a loud voice I beseech the Lord.
My complaint I pour out before him; before him I lay bare my distress.
When my spirit is faint within me, you know my path. In the way along
which I walk they have hid a trap for me. I look to the right to see, but
there is no one who pays me heed. I have lost all means of escape; there
is no one who cares for my life. (Ps 141: 2-5)

Priest: Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, help us to see in the sufferings and shortcomings of our
lives a share in Your Cross; strengthen and console us in the belief that we
bear all things in union with You, who have taken upon Yourself even our guilt.

All: Amen. (Stand)

Hymn: Brave but trembling
came the woman, none but she would flaunt the Roman, moved by love beyond her
fear.

SIXTH STATION - VERONICA WIPES THE FACE
OF JESUS

Priest: We adore You, O
Christ, and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: "Lord, when did we
see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you drink? And when did
we see you a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? Or when
did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?" And answering the
king will say to them, "Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it for one of
these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me." (Mt 25:37-40)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. A
faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he
who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself.
(Sir 5:14-17)

Priest: Let us pray.
Almighty and ever-loving God, we feel your love and understanding in the
consolation and support we receive from one another. Give us, we beg You,
the courage and dedication to sacrifice and suffer with those who are in need,
the least of your people.

All: Amen.
(Stand)

Hymn: Prostrate on the
dust He crumbled, flogged in Body He resembled all our brothers poor and
scorned.

SEVENTH STATION - JESUS FALLS THE
SECOND TIME

Priest: We adore You, O
Christ, and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: It was our weaknesses
that he carried, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as
stricken, as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our
offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the punishment that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each
following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. (Is 53:
4-6)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a
lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and
uttered no cry. When he was cut off from the land of the living, and
smitten for the sin of his people, a grave was assigned him among the wicked and
a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any
falsehood. (Is 53:7-9)

Priest: Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, You shared in our weaknesses and accepted our guilt.
Grant us the favor of rejoicing over our human weaknesses, so that in all we do,
Your strength, dwelling is us, may be shown to all others.

All: Amen. (Stand)

Hymn:May our sympathy for
Jesus turn to those who here now need us, may we see Christ bruised in them.

EIGHTH STATION - JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN
OF JERUSALEM

Priest: We adore You, O
Christ, and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: There was following
Jesus a great crowd of people, and among them were some women who were bewailing
and lamenting him. Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do
not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." (Lk 23:27-28)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering
like my suffering, suffering with which the Lord has afflicted me on the day of
his blazing wrath. At this I weep, my eyes run with tears: far from me are
all who could console me, far away are any who might revive me. (Lam 1:12, 16)

Priest: Let us pray.
Beloved Jesus, with tears of pity these women of Jerusalem responded to You,
broken, bruised, and beaten, on the road to Calvary. Deepen our faith, we
beg You, so that we may see You in our brothers and sisters, bruised by our
envy, beaten down by injustice, and broken by our greed and our indifference.

All: Amen. (Stand)

Hymn:Jesus fell again in
weakness, stumbling as we do, to lead us through our sorrow and our pain.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: I lie prostrate in
the dust; give me life according to your word. I declared my ways, and you
answered me; teach me your commands. Make me understand the way of your
precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. My soul weeps for
sorrow; strengthen me with your words. (Ps 118:25-28)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my
life's refuge; of whom should I be afraid? When evildoers come at me to
devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies themselves stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war be waged
upon me, even then will I trust. (Ps 26:1-3)

Priest: Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, you permitted your Son to be weakened, crushed, and
profaned so that He might rise from the dead freed from the ravages of sin.
Help us to accept our weaknesses and failings as forerunners of our glorious
resurrection in union with your Son.

All: Amen. (Stand)

Hymn: Stripped and jeered
by his own nation, Jesus stood in desolation, giving all He had to give.

TENTH STATION - JESUS IS STRIPPED OF
HIS CLOTHES

Priest: We adore You, O
Christ, and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: They gave Jesus wine
to drink mixed with gall; but when he had tasted it, he would not drink.
Then after they had crucified him, they divided his clothes, casting lots, to
fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, "They divided my clothes among
them, and upon my garments they cast lots." (Mt 27:34-35)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
Happy is the man whom God chastises! Do not reject the punishment of the
almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he smites, but his hands give
healing. Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak; I looked for
comforters, and I found none. Rather they put gall in my food, and in my
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (Jb:5:17-18; Ps 68:21-22)

Priest: Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, stripped of everything. You stood exposed to the jeers and
contempt of the people whom You loved. Clothe us with genuine love of
others, so that nothing we suffer may ever fill our hearts with hatred or
bitterness.

All:Amen.
(Stand)

Hymn: Pierced the hands
that blessed and cured us, pierced the feet that walked to free us, walked the
hill of Calvary.

ELEVENTH STATION - JESUS IS NAILED TO
THE CROSS

Priest: We adore You, O
Christ, and we praise you.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: When they came to
Golgatha, the place called the Skull, they crucified Jesus and the robbers, one
on his right and the other on his left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Lk 23:33-34; Jn 19:18)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, far from my prayer, far from the words
of my cry? O my God, I cry out by day, and you answer not; I cry out by
night, and there is no relief for me. All my bones are racked. My
heart has become like wax melting away within my chest. My throat is dried
up like baked clay, my tongue cleaves to my jaws; they have pierced my hands and
my feet; I can count all my bones. (Ps 21:2-3, 15-16, 17b)

Priest: Let us pray.
Lord and Savior, You have told us that we too must accept crucifixion if we are
to accept resurrection with You. Help us to rejoice in the sufferings that
come with the fulfillment of our daily duties, seeing in them the royal road of
the cross to the resurrection.

All: Amen. (Stand)

Hymn: Life eternal, death
defiant, bowed his head - the world was silent, through his death came life
anew.

TWELFTH STATION - JESUS DIES ON THE
CROSS

Priest: We adore You, O
Christ, and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: It was now about the
sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
And the sun was darkened, and the curtain of the temple was torn in the middle.
Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, "It is finished. Father, into
your hands I commend my spirit." Then, bowing his head, he died. (Lk
23:44-46; Jn 19:30b)

All: My people, what have I
done to you? or in what have I offended you? Answer me. What more
should I have done, and did not do? I led you out of the land of Egypt,
and you prepared a cross for me. I opened the Red Sea before you, and you
opened my side with a lance. I gave you a royal scepter, and you have
given me a crown of thorns. With great power I lifted you up, and you have
hung me upon a cross. My people, what have I done to you, or in what have
I offended you? Answer me.

All: Our Father, Who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. (Stand)

Hymn: Stunned and
stricken, Mary, Mother in your arms was placed our Brother, "Full of grace" now
filled with grief.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: When the soldiers
came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead so that they did not break his
legs, but one of them opened his side with a lance, and immediately there came
out blood and water. Joseph of Arimathea, because he was disciple of Jesus
(although a secret one for fear of the Jews), besought Pilate that he might take
away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave permission. (Jn 19:33-34, 38a)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and I will
bring you back to your land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live. You
shall know then that I am the Lord. I have promised it, and I will do it,
says the Lord. (Ez 37:12-14)

Priest: Let us pray.
Beloved Savior, You returned to the Father all that He had given You, so that He
might restore all to You a hundred-fold in the glorious resurrection. Help
us, we beg You, to give generously of ourselves in all that we do for You, so
that like You we might be made perfect in a new resurrection.

All: Amen. (Stand)

Hymn: Jesus, Lord, your
gift accepted, in three days You resurrected, You did first what we shall do.

FOURTEENTH STATION - JESUS IS LAID IN
THE TOMB

Priest: We adore You, O
Christ, and we praise You.

All: (Genuflect)
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Priest: Joseph of Arimathea
took the body of Jesus, and wrapping it in a clean linen cloth he laid it in his
new tomb, which he had hewn out of rock. Then he rolled a large stone
against the entrance of the tomb and departed. (Mt 27:59-60)

All: (Kneel and Pause)
I will praise you, O Lord, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies
rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, I cried out to you and you healed me.
O Lord, you brought me up from the lower world; you preserved me from among
those going down into the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you his faithful
ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger lasts but a moment;
his good will is for a lifetime. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with
dawn comes rejoicing. (Ps 29:2-6)

Priest: Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, on the edge of sadness when all seemed lost, You
restored to us the Savior we thought defeated and conquered. Help us, we
beg You, so to empty ourselves of self concern that we might see your hand in
every failure and you victory in every defeat. These things we ask in the
name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever with You in the
unity of the Holy Spirit.

All: Amen. (Stand)

Hymn: Jesus, risen, be our
lover in your Food and in our brother. Lead us home to heaven with You.